June 21, 2020: Summer Flowers are Here

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there! 

The summer heat arrived just in time for Father's Day, and the summer flowers are loving it; they're expressing themselves with brilliant colors from all corners of the spectrum.  I will let them speak for themselves.

Orange Hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum)

And the yellow variety (Hieracium caespitosum)

Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on Linda's Lobelia (not wild)

Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)

Daises and Lupines

Oxeye Daisey (Leucanthemum vulgare)

Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)

 

Not wild, but pretty

Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia)

Lupine (Lupinus)

With a customer

Mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)

I'll mention one concern about the heat:  the loons.  The Bryant Island nest is completely exposed to the sun all day long, and with clear, hot days one after another the loons have had no relief for days on end.  On top of that, with yesterday being the solstice, there's 15 and half hours of sun beating on them each day. The Harris Cove nest has a much better site with a good covering of bushes, but even they must be suffering.   It will be a remarkable parenting effort if either pair can keep their eggs cool enough to be viable.  We'll know in a couple more weeks.  

Until then, dads, granddads, and everyone, know that we are thinking of you even if we can't be with you, and take the time to smell the flowers.

November 3, 2019: November, and Still no Hard Frost

Halloween came and went - it was a warm, 65 degree day, though a bit damp.  Soon after, a cold front came through bringing below freezing weather, but still not enough for a hard, killing frost.  Even the cold, open field barely had a touch of frost, though up north in the mountains it was cold enough for at least one ski area to fire up the snow guns.

Blowing snow at Sunday River with Orion shining in the sky.  Photo by Sunday River Resort.

Even though daisies were still blooming this morning, the first real taste of winter isn't far off.

Daisies, mums, and a few marigolds are still hanging on.

The cold front's 40 mph winds finished ripping the leaves off the trees, and it did a good job of moving them from any clear area and piling them up against the nearest wind-stop.  But before it did it's job the atmosphere was so calm that leaves had been dropping straight down, leaving an elegant red carpet for all who trod the halls of the forest.

Before the wind stripped everything bare, the blueberry and huckleberry bushes had painted the shorelines with brilliant red as well.

Royal red - the color of kings for this special Sunday.

The sun is setting early now.

At the other end of the color spectrum I found these dark blue berries in large clumps on a dogwood tree.

I think this is Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum).

At least I think that's what this is.  At first I thought it was a viburnum, but the leaves and berries convinced me it's the dogwood.

There is a viburnum that had a very good crop of berries this year, and this one combines both ends of the color spectrum.

Mapleleaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)

The dark purple berries and deep red leaves of the mapleleaf viburnum contrast nicely in the fall sun.

On the animal side of the ledger, I saw quite a few ducks come by Lake Wicwas this week, but always on those days when it was "good weather for ducks" and in the morning when there was never enough light to take a decent picture.

A raft of woodies on a colorless morning.

I've seen mallards, buffleheads, and wood ducks so far, as well as our loons, at least one chick and one parent, always side by side.

Davidson and mom?

Davidson in a rare moment almost 100 yards away from mom, but looking for her.

There she is.  Mom is losing her summer colors, making it difficult to tell them apart from a distance.

There have been enough questions asking whether this close relationship is atypical that I sent the question on to the Loon Preservation Committee.  John Cooley responded that it is somewhat unusual this late in the year, so we'll keep an eye on things and provide an update as we approach ice-in.

With that thought...  it's the time of year when I wonder if every kayak trip will be my last for the season.

I hope everyone had a good, scary, haunted Halloween!

A haunted tree - complete with beard - alongside Tucker Mountain Road in Chemung.

October 2, 2016

The young deer I saw last week with its juvenile spots fading away isn't the only animal around the lake that is showing signs of change.  The loons are starting to molt, shedding their summer feathers and in the process losing their distinctive, sharp black and white summer attire.  Their heads seem to be the first to go, giving them a wise, gray-beard look.

Loons are starting to molt

By the time they head out to the Atlantic Ocean for the winter they will be drab gray all over - no need to impress the opposite sex if it's not mating season! 

I saw our resident pair out in the very middle of the lake grooming themselves;  it was a calm day and the lake was speckled with small feathers drifting gracefully along.  

The fine inner down that keeps them warm in cold waters was evident, and some of them left no doubt that they came from a loon.

 At one point I got a look at a foot in the air which showed two bands on it, one white and one silver. 

I thought it was not our resident pair, knowing the female has a green and a red-and-white band.  But John Cooley from the Loon Preservation Committee informed me that our loon has both legs banded, and this is in fact our female.  I had never seen her right leg before, but now we know:  green over red and white stripe on her left leg, and white over silver on her right.

There were a few other animals out on the lake enjoying the calm, warm summer day, including Canada Geese and this Painted Turtle relaxing on a rock in a sunny spot.

Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)

Did you notice its shy friend poking its nose up from behind the rock?

The flora is much more flamboyant in displaying their autumnal changes than the animals - no need for them to be discreet.  Winterberry has matured into its bright red color which really stands out and will last well into winter - unless the birds eat them all first.

Winterberry (Ilex Verticillata)

The fruit on the Mapleleaf Viburnum is not so bright, but just as distinctive.

Mapleleaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)

This fruit, like the winterberry, is not considered edible, but is a food source for many birds as well as mammals. 

The foliage around the Lakes Region is still in the early stages of their change as seen from this view from the White Mountain Ledge in the Hamlin Conservation Area.

Even to the north there is little color in the trees

But many of the loners are already rebelling against summer, proclaiming their autumnal independence from the laws of photosynthesis.

A lone maple makes a rebellious statement in the Chemung Forest with Ladd Mountain watching from afar

  Change is everywhere around Lake Wicwas.